In our latest My Life in Law blog, we speak to Naomi Goldsmith, who joined our employment team earlier this year as an Associate.

After graduating from University of Manchester with a law degree, Naomi trained in Manchester, completing a six-month secondment at Amazon, before relocating to London. Now, back in Manchester, she reflects on her decision to return to the North of England, and what made Pannone so appealing.

Why did you join Pannone?

After having a baby in December 2024, I knew I wanted to move back to Manchester to raise him. I wanted to join a regional firm that had a brilliant culture, friendly atmosphere, good quality work and great clients. Pannone was recommended to me straight away.

I had my first interview and immediately felt that it was the right fit for me. The team asked me questions about me as a person, not just as a lawyer. After I’d finished the interview, a family member said they’d overheard me laughing and presumed I was on the phone to a friend – it reaffirmed my thoughts that the firm was the best place for me.

What is the most satisfying aspect of your job?

One of the things that drew me to employment is the fact that it is an area of law that revolves around people. I enjoy speaking to clients on a daily basis and knowing that we have helped to lighten their workload and resolve conflicts affecting their business.

What does a typical day look like?

The other aspect of employment which drew me in was the variety of workstreams we get involved with, including litigation, advisory work, corporate support, drafting contracts and doing policy reviews. A typical day will include:

• Drafting tribunal documents such as witness statements or a list of issues to comply with a case management order;
• Doing client calls and giving advice on next steps in respect of an internal process such as a disciplinary investigation, redundancy consultation or policy review;
• Drafting documents for clients such as service agreements or settlement agreements;
• Responding to any enquiries from prospective clients and providing fee quotes for work such as advising on the terms and effect of a settlement agreement;
• Attending a team training session on a topic such as TUPE
• Reading up on a new key case.

What can lawyers / the legal profession do to better support clients? Does anything need to change?

We need to try to keep up with AI! I have been a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to AI and have been reluctant to use it. We are seeing a huge increase in the use of it by employees and claimants to draft documents such as particulars of claims and grievances. I think claims in general are on the up as a result of information becoming more easily accessible through functions such as ChatGPT. I think as lawyers we need to consider how we can use AI positively to keep up with this influx and help our clients manage this.

What would you be doing if you didn’t have a career in law?

I’ve always loved the idea of being a florist and owning a shop. Perhaps one day I might fulfil that dream!